Social Awkwardness: 7 Deadly Sins for Your Small Business

Let’s be honest—not everyone can be a social media guru. If
you’re a small business owner, you can be an expert in your industry,
but social media is a completely different playing field, and the game
is constantly changing.

By now, you might have heard it a hundred times, “Your business needs
to be on social media!” While it’s true that there are many
ways to skin a cat, before you go tweeting and sharing content, you should
know there are a few practices to avoid on social media at all costs.
We like to call them
the 7 deadly social media sins:

1. Creating a Facebook page just for the sake of it.

Nowadays, people seem to launch a page on Facebook like they would buy
a domain. It’s like it’s on some new business checklist: Get
domain, get incorporated, get a phone line, get a Facebook page. This is the
wrong way to go about it.

Instead of looking at a Facebook Business page as something to check off
your to-do list, make a plan for yourself. Do you plan to post frequently
and engage with an audience? Having a Facebook Business page with no content
is like having a reception desk in your office without a receptionist—it’s
useless. If you’re going to create a Facebook page for your business,
be conscious about sharing updates with clients and customers. Even if
you don’t have the time, you can hire someone to get the job done for you.

2. Don’t use a personal page for business.

We’ve all seen it—Chuck’s page all of a sudden becomes
XYZ Jewelry, and we know we did not hear of nor like a page for XYZ Jewelry.
Beyond this, there are several reasons turning your personal Facebook
page into a business page is bad news. (A) Your Facebook friends will
get confused. (B) You won’t benefit from the perks that come with
a verified business page.

And (C) Facebook can disable your account. If you’re not sure how
to set up a personal business account, turn to
Facebook’s help center, or your trusted social media experts here at Scorpion.

3. Avoid posting the same content across the board.

What works for one social media channel might not work for another. Your
posts should be tailored to the platform it’s being placed on. Just
because you uploaded a YouTube video doesn’t mean you should share
the link on Facebook, Twitter, and your blog and then check off your social
media work for a day or two. Social platforms favor their native options.
Try uploading the video file directly to Facebook and Twitter and see
how impressions and engagement change for the better!

4. Shy away from clickbait headlines.

Clickbait headlines in a nutshell are aimed at generating online advertising
revenue through misleading words. We’ve all seen it before: “You
won’t believe #7! I was shocked!” Not only does this come
off as inauthentic to your followers, but the latest Facebook algorithm
fails to favorite this type of content from the News Feed. The better
course of action is to share accurate and informative headlines that make
people want to click the link and read more.

5. Don’t buy your friends.

Having an entourage gets expensive—just ask every broke movie star
and sports icon. When you stop paying for them, they suddenly leave. The
same thing happens in the world of social media. Not all of your followers
are true fans. They could be there by accident, or because they fit some
marketer’s profile that was built for you. It’s possible they
also accidentally hit the Like button on an ad when scrolling through
their News Feed.

6. Don’t overuse the hashtag.

A paragraph of hashtags is unappealing to your followers. Oftentimes it
comes off as being desperate for likes and other types of engagement (#It’s
#soannoying #botherspeople #stopit #omg). Instead, try to incorporate
them into your caption as seamlessly as possible.

7. Stay away from politics.

It seems like recently, politics are the constant trending conversation
on social. However, regardless of your beliefs, politics can be a touchy
subject. So while you should feel free to post your opinions on your personal
page, you stay neutral or avoid post about politics altogether on your
business page—unless you want to run the risk of insulting or losing
your fan base,

At the end of the day, you want your company to benefit in very specific
ways through your social media assets. A strong social presence will allow
you to communicate effectively to your current and potential customers,
enhance your overall web presence, and hopefully be seen as a subject
matter expert in your field.

If setting up social media for your business sounds like too much work,
hire a credible digital marketing team to help you set goals for your
social media presence and execute an effective plan.
Learn more about how we can help you with your
social media marketing!

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About the Author

Scorpion is a full-service digital marketing agency that helps clients maximize their visibility on the Internet, reach the right audiences online, and generate high-quality leads. Businesses and brands turn to Scorpion for proven online marketing solutions, as well as award-winning technology and customer service. Google named Scorpion, the Champion of Customer Satisfaction for two years in a row.